The invention concerns a plastic shaped body with rounded outer contours for carrying out an active motion therapy method by filling bulk material of shaped bodies into a container, and the limbs to be trained are immersed into the bulk material for carrying out exercises. The invention also concerns a device for carrying out an active motion therapy method with bulk material of plastic shaped bodies having rounded outer contours which can be filled into a container provided for immersing the limbs to be trained into the bulk material for carrying out exercises.
Methods of this type for active motion therapy are known in the art. They were originally used mainly in competitive sport for strengthening limb muscles, in particular for jumping related athletic competition. In the meantime, such methods have found increased use in physiotherapy, e.g. within the scope of rehabilitation measures, in medical training therapy for prophylaxis of joint injuries, and for therapy of peripheral perception disturbances. The user can thereby advantageously perform the respective exercises on a regular basis without supervision at home e.g. with the assistance of instructions on posters. The user thereby immerses the limbs to be trained, e.g. arms or legs, into the shaped body bulk material and carries out certain motions in opposition to the resistance of the shaped bodies, which is substantially greater than that of air. This produces gentle muscle build-up and has a positive massaging effect as mechanical contact to the shaped bodies increases blood circulation.
The conventional shaped bodies were usually natural substances such as peas, beans, lentils, corn or the like. Such natural shaped bodies disadvantageously have the risk of being destroyed under prolonged wear to produce granular residue of various sizes. The use of natural shaped bodies also involves hygienic problems, in particular infestation with microorganisms, fungus, bacteria etc.
DE 94 077 36 describes a device of this type having shaped body bulk made from a plastic material which, however, is not described in detail but which does overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of shaped bodies made from natural substances. The shaped bodies are thereby shaped either entirely asymmetrically in a form of natural substances such as beans, peas, lentils or corn or are symmetrical with the shape of geometrical bodies such as spheres or cylinders.
It is therefore the underlying purpose of the present invention to further develop a shaped body or a device with bulk material of shaped bodies of the above-mentioned type to effect an even resistance which is largely independent of the direction while carrying out active motion therapy with limbs are to be trained being immersed in the bulk material.